Originally Posted by **********

When hiring a programer, ask for references that you can verify yourself. Whenever possible, worth with a programmer in your own country and insist on a written signed agreement. When providing access, make sure the FTP info is to a development server with test data only, and not a production server with production data. Under no circumstances should you allow anyone root or administrative access to your server, or allow access to other directories. When the job is finished make sure there are no other programs or scripts installed that should not be there. Demand the source code and review everything carefully where possible before making anything live, and before paying the balance.